Roll-up sunroof shade

ABSTRACT

A vehicle sunroof assembly is provided including a roof with a sunroof opening. A headliner is arranged adjacent to the roof in the vehicle occupant area. A track assembly is disposed between the roof and the headliner. The track assembly, which preferably supports the sunroof, includes lateral spaced apart guide members. A sunshade receptacle is arranged between the guide members, preferably in a lateral location near the side of the vehicle where it may accommodate the sunshade without adversely affecting headroom. A flexible sunshade is supported by the guide members and is moveable between open and closed position along the guide members with the sunshade blocking at least a portion of the opening in the closed position. The sunshade is received in the sunshade receptacle in the open position. Preferably, the flexible sunshade is constructed from a plurality of rigid members that are secured to spaced apart flexible layers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to a sunroof assembly for a vehicle, moreparticularly, the invention relates to a sunroof sunshade.

[0002] Sunroofs are desirable features to many vehicle consumers. Thesunroof is typically located over an occupant seating area, and as aresult, may affect the available headroom to the occupants. Sunroofstypically move forward to rearward between closed and open positions.The sunroof may be stored in the open position on the exterior of thevehicle, or alternatively, the sunroof may be stowed between the roofand headliner, which reduces the headroom to the vehicle occupants. Mostcommonly sunroofs are stowed between the roof and headliner therebyreducing headroom.

[0003] Sunshades are commonly used with vehicle sunroofs to blocksunlight when the sunroof is in the closed position. Sunshades arecommonly stowed between the roof and headliner, further reducing theavailable headroom to the occupants. If sufficient headroom isunavailable to the occupants, the sunshade may be eliminated orexpensive alternatives may be required to accommodate the sunshade.Accordingly, when the sunroof and/or sunshade is stowed in a closedposition, which is typically within the vehicle compartment between theroof and headliner, the headroom is reduced. Therefore, what is neededis a vehicle sunroof assembly that includes a sunshade that minimizesthe negative impact on headroom when the sunshade is in a stowedposition.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND ADVANTAGES

[0004] The present invention provides a vehicle sunroof assemblyincluding a roof with a sunroof opening. A headliner is arrangedadjacent to the roof in the vehicle occupant area. A track assembly isdisposed between the roof and the headliner. The track assembly, whichpreferably supports the sunroof, includes lateral spaced apart guidemembers. A sunshade receptacle is arranged between the guide members,preferably in a lateral location near the side of the vehicle where itmay be packaged without adversely affecting headroom. A flexiblesunshade is supported by the guide members and is moveable between openand closed position along the guide members with the sunshade blockingat least a portion of the opening in the closed position. The sunshadeis received in the sunshade receptacle in the open position. Preferably,the flexible sunshade is constructed from a plurality of rigid membersthat are secured to spaced apart flexible layers.

[0005] Accordingly, the above invention provides a vehicle sunroofassembly that includes a sunshade that minimizes the negative impact onheadroom when the sunshade is in a stowed position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] Other advantages of the present invention can be understood byreference to the following detailed description when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

[0007]FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a top of a vehicle withthe roof partially broken away;

[0008]FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of a sunroof assembly shown inFIG. 1 taken along lines 2-2;

[0009]FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the sunshade shownin FIG. 2; and

[0010]FIG. 4 is an enlarged bottom elevational view of opposingsunshades in a closed position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0011] A top of a vehicle is shown in FIG. 1. The vehicle includes asunroof assembly 10, secured to a roof 12. The sunroof assembly 10 isprimarily disposed between the roof 12 and a headliner 14 within theinterior of the vehicle. An opening 13 is arranged in the roof 12 forreceiving a sunroof.

[0012] The sunroof assembly 10 includes a track assembly 16 having guidemembers 18 arranged laterally. That is, the guide members 18 extend in aside-to-side direction relative to the vehicle. Referring to FIGS. 1 and2, a flexible sunshade 20 is supported by the guide members 18 formovement between open and closed positions. Preferably, a pair ofsunshades 20 are used in the sunroof assembly 10. When in the closedposition, the sunshades meet in the center of the opening 13.

[0013] With prior art devices, single rigid panels have been utilized assunshades and have been moved from a forward position in which thesunshade covers the opening 13 to a rearward position in which theopening 13 is unobstructed by the sunshade. However, such arrangementstypically impinge upon vehicle occupant headroom. To this end, theflexible sunshade 20 is arranged for movement in a lateral directiontoward the side of the vehicle where the sunroof 20 may be stowedwithout adversely affecting headroom. The sunroof assembly 10 includes asunshade receptacle 22 arranged between the guide members 18 forreceiving the sunshade 20. The receptacle is located laterally at theside of the vehicle where it may be packaged without adversely affectingheadroom. The receptacle 22 includes a channel 24 which receives andguides the sunshade 20 when in the closed position. The channel 24overlaps or double backs on itself, preferably numerous times, tominimize the space required for storage of the sunshade 20.

[0014] The track assembly 16 preferably includes sunroom tracks 25arranged transverse, preferably perpendicular, to the guide members 18.A sunroof 26 moves along the tracks 25 between forward and rearwardpositions corresponding to closed and open positions, as is known in theprior art. In this manner, the track assembly 16 provides a modular unitby which the sunshade 20 and sunroof 26 may be installed onto thevehicle.

[0015] Referring now to FIG. 3, an enlarged cross-sectional view of thesunshade 20 is shown. The sunshade includes a plurality of rigid members28 arranged generally parallel to one another. The rigid members 28 aresandwiched between and secured to first 30 and second 32 layers.Preferably, the layers are constructed from an aesthetically pleasingfabric. The rigid members 28 preferably provide sufficient structuralintegrity to the sunshade 20 comparable to a prior art single panelsunshades. However, the flexible nature of the sunshade 20 permits thesunshade to be stowed in a compact manner within the receptacle 20 tothe side of the interior of the vehicle where the negative impact onheadroom is minimized.

[0016] Opposing sunshades 20 a and 20 b are shown in a closed positionin FIG. 4. The sunshades 20 a and 20 b include ends 34 arranged inabutting relationship to one another. A latch 36 may be used to securethe sunshades 20 a and 20 b to one another. The latch 36 may include ahandle, as shown, that may be moved to a locked position L, or any othersuitable device. The sunshades 20 a and 20 b may be moved manuallyindependently of one another, or may be actuated simultaneously orindependently by a motorized mechanism.

[0017] The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, andit is to be understood that the terminology that has been used isintended to be in the nature of words of description rather than oflimitation. Obviously, many modifications and variations of the presentinvention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is,therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claimsthe invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle sunroof assembly comprising: a roofwith a sunroof opening; a headliner adjacent to said roof; a trackassembly disposed between said roof and said headliner, said trackassembly including lateral spaced apart guide members and a sunshadereceptacle arranged between said guide members; and a flexible sunshadesupported in said guide members and movable between open and closedpositions along said guide members, said sunshade blocking at least aportion of said opening in said closed position and being received insaid sunshade receptacle in said open position.
 2. The vehicle sunroofassembly according to claim 1, wherein said sunshade receptacle includesa channel in overlapping relation with itself.
 3. The vehicle sunroofassembly according to claim 1, further including a pair of opposingsunshades with ends of said sunshades meeting one another in said closedposition.
 4. The vehicle sunroof assembly according to claim 3, furtherincluding a latch having a locked position for securing said sunshadesin said closed position.
 5. The vehicle sunroof assembly according toclaim 3, wherein said sunshades are movable independently relative toone another.
 6. The vehicle sunroof assembly according to claim 1,wherein said sunshade includes a flexible layer and a plurality ofgenerally parallel rigid members secured to said flexible layer.
 7. Thevehicle sunroof assembly according to claim 6, wherein said sunshadeincludes a second flexible layer opposite said flexible layer with saidrigid members secured to said second layer.
 8. The vehicle sunroofassembly according to claim 1, wherein said track assembly includessunroof tracks transverse to said guides and a sunroof supported in bysaid sunroof tracks.
 9. A method of utilizing a sunroof assemblycomprising the steps of: a) moving a first sunshade portion in a lateraldirection to an first open position; b) moving a second sunshade portionin an opposite lateral direction to a second open position; and c)moving a sunroof in a direction transverse to the lateral and oppositelateral directions to a sunroof open position.
 10. The method accordingto claim 9, wherein steps a) and b) occur independently of one another.11. The method according to claim 9, wherein steps a) and b) eachinclude moving the sunshade portion in an overlapping relation withitself.
 12. A vehicle sunroof assembly comprising: lateral spaced apartguide members generally parallel to one another; a sunshade receptaclearranged between and generally perpendicular to said guide members; anda flexible sunshade supported in said guide members and movable betweenopen and closed positions along said guide members, said received insaid sunshade receptacle in said open position.
 13. The vehicle sunroofassembly according to claim 12, wherein said sunshade receptacleincludes a channel in overlapping relation with itself.
 14. The vehiclesunroof assembly according to claim 12, further including a pair ofopposing sunshades with ends of said sunshades meeting one another insaid closed position.
 15. The vehicle sunroof assembly according toclaim 14, further including a latch having a locked position forsecuring said sunshades in said closed position.
 16. The vehicle sunroofassembly according to claim 14, wherein said sunshades are movableindependently relative to one another.
 17. The vehicle sunroof assemblyaccording to claim 12, wherein said sunshade includes a flexible layerand a plurality of generally parallel rigid members secured to saidflexible layer.
 18. The vehicle sunroof assembly according to claim 17,wherein said sunshade includes a second flexible layer opposite saidflexible layer with said rigid members secured to said second layer. 19.The vehicle sunroof assembly according to claim 12, wherein said trackassembly includes sunroof tracks transverse to said guides and a sunroofsupported in by said sunroof tracks.